Popular Spots in Nashville

Keeping Your Resolutions, Part Three: The Unconventional Path To Fitness

We've trekked through the mire of our few weeks of resolutions – waking up at offensive hours for yoga classes, paying unseemly amounts for gym memberships we'll only use a handful of times. Heck, we even bundled ourselves up and went for a run in the frigid evenings (and came back with sweatcicles in our hair). We can’t help but think to ourselves: is there a path to a healthy life that doesn’t feel like torture? Yes, Nashville. In fact, there are plenty. Here are some of our favorite unconventional fitness methods – from scuba lessons to incredibly bouncy dodgeball games.

Jump For JoySky High Sports
As wide as an airplane hangar, this gym is covered entirely with trampolines. Just walking across the bouncy, stretchy floor is a calorie burner. For those looking for more than a mere stroll, we suggest signing up for a game of trampoline dodgeball or taking a few blazen leaps into the foam ball pit. Just try not to feel like a kid again.

Dance Your Day AwayDancEast
Put away the tutus – no recitals here. Instead, DancEast is the sort of open-minded studio that just wants you to move, offering classes that reach far beyond the world of ballet. Are you a Duke Ellington fan? Sign up for one of the swing workshops. Do you prefer R&B? Take a hip-hop dance class instead.

Join the Green TeamTeam Green Adventures
Founded by the staff at Lightning 100, these adrenaline junkies schedule more than 250 events every year, from ski trips to rock climbing parties. Next weekend, they’re even offering an indoor scuba lesson. Signing up for a yearly membership by the end of this month is just $25. (Beat that, YMCA.)

Run For ItEast Nasty Running Group
Whether you’re looking to run your first half-marathon or simply complete a three-mile jog without dry heaving, this running group will make it much easier to pound the pavement. Couch potatoes, casual joggers and speed demons all show up for the group’s Wednesday night jaunts, and many of them hit up 3 Crow afterwards. “East Nasty turns a workout into an enjoyable social event,” says Kristen Kimmel, who helps organize the group’s half-marathon training runs every weekend. “I’d say it’s like positive peer pressure - when everyone else is running up a giant hill, you’re less tempted to stop.”